


C is for Curios

by Psychodelikas



Series: The Alphabet of Dreams [4]
Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Curiosity killed the...you know what? Never mind., Magic Time!, Magic is Real, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, it is real Vala!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 08:57:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12453957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psychodelikas/pseuds/Psychodelikas
Summary: “I vow not to tell a living soul,” I obeyed, starting to feel more than a little annoyed.“Not even your beloved Zanthe,” he specified, his mismatched eyes burning into my very soul.





	C is for Curios

The days went by me as I stubbornly drowned myself in classes and research for my paper. My coordinator had told me that my latest chapter needed to be rewritten because I had lost sight of the main idea. I was rarely happy to hear something like that.

The nights were pure torture. Aside from my throbbing sex, I barely got any sleep and as a consequence, I had fallen asleep in class too often for my teachers’ liking but not enough for me to care about their opinions.

Then one night the dream changed. Instead of waking up just after he got on top of me, _I kept on dreaming._ He gently pressed his soft lips on mine and I tasted some exotic fruit which I immediately wanted to eat directly from his mouth. His hands slowly explored my body as mine started unbuttoning his shirt. He slipped his slick and sweet tongue between my lips as his hand went between my thighs. I moaned and happily parted my lips for him as I exposed his chest and felt the gently sculptured muscles the shirt had hidden away.

It was then that my phone’s alarm woke me up and I almost broke the device in half as I turned it off. My heart was pounding so hard my chest, I was convinced that it had left an imprint on my bones. I also had a very funny sensation between my legs so I slipped my fingers inside my panties. I gasped at how _soaked_ I was. I chuckled half hysteric, half truly amused by the situation then checked my phone out of habit. My amusement vanished when I noticed the date.

My birthday was less than twenty-four hours away.

I knew right then and there what my schedule for the entire day would be and I was surprised at how excited that made me feel.

However, I was only a little surprised to see Jared standing on the porch as I pulled up in the driveway. I parked close to the main entrance then saw that he was professionally dressed and all in black. It was amazing how that made his eyes shine.

“Welcome, my dear,” he greeted me as I slowly climbed the few main stairs, not moving an inch.

“Good morning,” I replied, refraining from saying his name and stopping at arm’s length from him. “Um, is this a bad time? Sh-should I go?”

“That is entirely up to you,” Jared said mysteriously. “I have to warn you. My castle is unlike anything you’ve ever seen or heard of.” He grinned wickedly. “You’ve already had but a mere taste of what this stone sanctuary can offer.”

My heart skipped a beat. “You…you’ve known this whole time?”

“I know everything that goes on in my castle, my dear.”

I felt anger creeping up on me. “And you didn’t once think to say something?”

Jared was taken aback by my tone but I was already foaming at the mouth and took a step closer to him.

“I was just a kid!” I all but yelled at him. “You didn’t once think to mention to a little fourteen-year-old girl that you were playing host to a small orgy before inviting her and her family over for dinner?”

Jared didn’t move a muscle. “As a matter of fact, no. It did not occur to me to educate a child into not sticking her pretty little nose into other people’s business.”

I blinked and took half a step back, stunned beyond words. In all my years, I had never thought of it like that. Shame, guilt and embarrassment filled me from head to toe.

“I apologize…” I said in a small voice.

Jared took a good long look at me then his features softened.

“Perhaps now is the time for you to find some closure. You see, I’ve been waiting for years for you to return so that I may explain what you had truly witnessed.”

“Two women having their brains screwed out of their heads?” I mocked sarcastic, unable to control myself but Jared laughed at that.

“Not exactly, my dear,” he said then wanted to add more but stopped himself from doing so. “However, I cannot explain properly before I have your solemn vow that you will not tell a soul about what you shall witness within these walls or beyond.”

I looked at him as if he were from a different planet then laughed in his face. “My solemn vow? What is this, Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table?”

“I’m afraid I am quite serious, Valaria,” he coolly cut my amusement short.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized embarrassed again. “I promise not to tell anyone anything.”

“I need you to vow, my dear,” he said gravely as he took half a step closer to me.

“I vow not to tell a living soul,” I obeyed, starting to feel more than a little annoyed.

“Not even your beloved Zanthe,” he specified, his mismatched eyes burning into my very soul.

“By God’s good grace and with the heavenly army as my witness,” I swore, trying to keep my annoyance in check, “I, Valaria Straits solemnly swear not to breathe a word, willing or otherwise with regards to the wonders within or around the Stone Castle but especially to my best friend in the entire world, Zanthe Reinhart under pain of death.”

I immediately felt as if a current of some sort of electricity surge through my body as the wind blew strongly for a moment.

Jared could not be more satisfied with my oath. “Excellently done, my dear. We may now proceed.”

On cue, the heavy double doors opened on their own behind him. I couldn’t help but stare with my mouth half open.

Then Jared extended his hand to me and I placed mine over it without even thinking twice about it. He smirked and escorted me inside. Naturally, the doors closed the moment we stepped on the fluffy rug with that loud and heavy sound.

“Okay, how is that possible?” I demanded annoyed, letting go of his hand.

Jared analyzed me from head to toe before answering simply, “Magic.” He offered me his hand again. “Do you have any more childish questions or may we continue?”

I took his hand a bit forcefully, my cheeks warm with blush.

Jared chuckled then led me down the corridor next to the grand staircase and towards the study. I wondered how on Earth could he stir so many feelings in me and get such different reactions from me in less than seven minutes. I had a vague feeling he would get many more such reactions from me by the time were done. And it was barely eleven in the morning.

However, what truly made me feel uneasy in Jared’s presence weren’t the splendid suits of armor placed at equal distance from another, all of which looked strangely authentic and some even had battle scars. What bothered me were the weird little episodes which seemed to happen only around Jared. My odd behavior, the strange electric current, the wind, those doors…and I was convinced that there was a heck of a lot more where those came from.

“Now,” Jared said casually once we were in the study. He let go of my hand and walked over to the impressive desk placed opposite the entrance then sat down behind it. “Do have a seat my dear.”

I complied and sat down on one of the two armchairs in front of the desk. My body had barely touched the smooth cushion when the door closed all on its own. I looked at it stunned then at him.

Jared only smiled and carelessly parted his hands. “I thought that this would be a much better place to discuss your special day. What did you have in mind, my dear?”

I stared at him with a dumb expression, questions upon questions swimming in my head. “Why twenty-five?” I asked the first one which I could decipher.

“That’s how old I had been when something incredible happened to me.” He parted his hands again, pointing at the room we were in. “I was given control over this establishment.”

“So it’s like a family business.”

“Very similar to that, yes.”

“But that still doesn’t explain it,” I said after a moment’s thought. “I mean, you talking over the family business doesn’t seem like enough.”

“Because it wasn’t,” Jared answered with a sly smirk. “It was a reward for having successfully completed a very special quest. _That_ is why everyone receives a free invitation to my castle on their twenty-fifth birthday. To complete the same quest I did.”

“What happens if they don’t?” I asked fascinated.

“Absolutely nothing,” he said with a shrug then smiled. “But they do leave as completely different people, that you can be sure of.”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him. “Why?”

“All I can safely tell you is that each quest is different for each person. Regardless of completing their quest or not, the person who walks out is not the same person who walked in.”

I stared at him blankly. “A soul-searching quest,” I declared flatly. _“That’s_ what all the fuss was about? A stupid self-exploration at the end of which there is a life-changing catharsis?”

Jared said nothing.

“Well, those two women must have had _several_ life-changing breakthroughs.”

Jared narrowed his eyes at me. “Why do you assume it was about the women?”

I blinked at him confused. “What?”

“Why do you assume it was the women who had desired that?”

I had no idea what to answer because I realized just then that I _had_ assumed for all those years that either one or both women had been the ones who had sought such an experience, not the men. When I had been eighteen, I had argued to myself that if men desired all sorts of sexual adventures, why couldn’t women desire the same? But I had never truly stopped to properly analyze what I had seen for quite a number of reasons.

Jared smiled at me, the look on his face suggesting he had read my mind as I made that little realization.

“You must understand something very important,” he said softly. “This place exists to serve in the most complete way possible. A man is confused by his purpose in life, the castle helps him explore all possibilities for as long as he needs. A woman is unsure if she should follow her dreams or go down the path her family chose for her, the castle shows her what consequences each option might have. Or if a man wants to find a remedy for his sex addiction, the castle will show him exactly what will happen to him if he has dishonest intentions. _That_ was what you half saw that night except the man in question was firmly denied participation or self-satisfaction.”

I stared at him in horror, a myriad of questions and feelings fighting within me. “But that sounds more like torture!”

“Indeed, it was,” he agreed. “The castle responds according to the person who requires its service. If they are pure of heart and true of intent, the castle will act accordingly. If they are corrupt and false, well, then the consequences will be quite severe.”

I actually felt a small pang of fear.

Again, Jared seemed to know what I was going through and smiled reassuringly at me. “Do not worry yourself so much, my dear. There is always a crucial choice.”

“What choice?”

“To accept my invitation or not.”

I was stunned yet again. Refusing had never crossed my mind…and I suspected that the same hadn’t occurred to a lot of the previous participants. “I suppose that little piece of information isn’t specified beforehand, is it?” I said sarcastic.

“Where would be the fun in that?” Jared teased. “Besides, it is an _invitation_ , not an obligation. People seem to forget that only the latter cannot be refused.”

I pressed my lips into a line. I had been a little girl when I last felt so stupid for not picking up on something obvious.

I swallowed and nervously asked the one question I though was most relevant. “And… Do _I_ have the same choice?”

For a moment as long as a century, I was convinced he would say no. Then Jared smiled. “Of course you do, my dear.”

I was disappointed. _Disappointed!_ I tried to smile as a response although deep down, I wished he would actually have said that I was obligated to take that silly quest which I would have made sure involved satisfying all of my desires and curiosities. Ideally by Jared himself. And that wish of mine frightened and disturbed me to the bone.

“Now,” he suddenly said, joining his hands together with a clap. “Would you like a private tour of my stony abode? It might help with your decision.”

“Dear God, yes, please,” I said a little too eagerly and Jared laughed.

I hadn’t thought it humanly possible to be so profoundly disappointed twice in the same day.

True to his word, Jared gave me a simple, boring tour of the castle. I quickly discovered that it was the outside which made it fascinating. The inside was _identical_ to every castle I had seen. Fancy bedrooms and bathrooms and a kitchen big enough to hold an army of chefs. At the top of each turret, there was an observation platform from which everything could be seen from every direction. Even approaching cars. He didn’t show me the tower, however. He said that was the only part of the castle off limits to everyone but himself.

Before I headed home, Jared handed me a card with his personal details, specifying that I could call at any time to inform him of my decision.

Needless to say that my mind was occupied with nothing but my little visit and Jared for the rest of the day.

But it was only after I woke up in the middle of the night, sweaty and wanting that I picked up my phone and turned my room upside down for that infernal piece of cardboard.

“I want to know what’s in that tower and I will _not_ take no for an answer!” I almost yelled after the second tone.

For a painfully long moment, I was afraid I would be denied or that I had dialed the wrong number.

“I will be expecting you at eight o’clock sharp in the evening. Do _not_ be late and wear something elegant.”

I felt my heart growing wings then fly off joyfully.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Things are finally starting to move plot-wise, eh? Slowly, granted but it's part of the fun. :)


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